Precious
by evieeden
Summary: When Renee doesn't come home one evening, Charlie is left holding the baby. Advent story written for 6th December.


**Hello all. We're on day six of December and I'm afraid that this might be the last day that I post these advent fics every day, because they're beginning to take over my life, so I might have to stagger them a bit in the future. Anyway, here's today's offering; I hope you all enjoy it.**

**Thank you to the lovely msrachelgarner for pre-reading this for me, and once again, I own nothing of Twilight... although I wouldn't mind owning Jackson Rathbone.**

**Precious**

**CPOV**

Bella wouldn't stop crying.

Charlie had tried everything, but she just wouldn't quieten down. He had fed her (out of a bottle because Renee refused to ruin her figure by breastfeeding), burped her, changed her diaper (the first two attempts had been ridiculous, but this one looked like it was fitted on ok), sung her a dozen nursery rhymes (and several dirty shanties that Billy had taught him), walked endless circles around the couch in the living room and bounced her on his hip until his joints were starting to ache.

Nothing worked.

Charlie liked to think of himself as a modern man. Sure, he worked to look after his family while Renee stayed at home with Bella, but he didn't expect her to do everything by herself. He took his turn cooking dinner every evening, helped with all the chores around the house, took his daughter out of his wife's hands every night so she could spend some time relaxing. He got up in the middle of the night to give Bella her 4am feed and sacrificed his weekend fishing trips with Billy and Harry down at the reservation.

He was the best father he could possibly be; but right now, what he thought Bella really needed, was her mother...

Unfortunately, she had disappeared and he had no clue where she was.

He had got back from work dead on five o'clock like usual, only to be greeted at the door, by his elderly next-door neighbour, Mrs Finch. Apparently Renee had called her in the morning and asked her to come over and look after Bella as one of her friends in Seattle had an emergency and she had to drive up to the city to help. He had been completely taken aback by this explanation. For one, he didn't even know that Renee had any friends who currently lived in Seattle, and for another, he had been in the station all day; he was sure that if Renee had called him, he would have been able to come home early to take care of his daughter.

According to Mrs Finch though, Renee had left the house at ten o'clock this morning and it was now pushing eleven in the evening. He had tried to phone all of her friends who were listed in the phonebook earlier in the evening, but none of them knew where she could be and worry was starting to cloud his mind.

Bella let out another wail and Charlie pulled his attention back to the present. Walking around wasn't getting anything done, so, with a sigh of relief, he sank back into his old armchair, rocking backwards as he did.

Bella's cries quietened a little, and he started up a soft rocking movement that seemed to calm her down so much. He stared down with love at the small bundle he held. Bella gazed back up at him with surprisingly intelligent eyes.

"Are you missing your mommy?" he asked.

Bella's crying grew a little louder and he rested her against his chest, patting her back gently and continuing the rocking movement in an effort to soothe her.

"Yeah, me too, baby. She'll be back soon though. I bet she's missing you already wherever she is."

His daughter's crying petered out, leaving only quiet murmuring in its wake. Charlie stroked a finger down the soft skin of Bella's chubby cheek, noting that she had obviously inherited his paler, more sensitive skin. Bella reached out and latched onto one of his fingers, chewing on his knuckle with fleshy gums

He continued to talk to her, hoping that the vibrations from his chest would continue to pacify her.

"I think she just needed a bit of time to herself, you know. It's not always easy being a mommy, even though she loves you very much. I guess, when you're a woman and you have kids, there are all these...feelings and stuff that you get that can mess with your head a bit. You'll probably work that out when you're a grown-up yourself, although if you can stay my baby girl for as long as possible, I'll appreciate that. I don't want to have to worry about boyfriends or... girlfriends... or whoever until you're at least thirty...and you've got to bring them home first so I can check them out and make sure that they're decent.

It's been tough though. Your mom's a California girl at heart and I know that sometimes living here doesn't suit her, or isn't exciting enough for her. This is a good place to live though, especially while you're still growing up. The folks are nice and I got a good job down at the police station, especially considering I only finished my training last year and all our friends and family are here. Maybe we'll move to somewhere sunnier when you're a bit older. Although, from the looks of things, you'll grow up with my inability to tan. I'm afraid it's going to be sunscreen all the way for you, baby.

It will get better though, Bella, I promise you that. We'll move somewhere with a good neighbourhood and a big backyard, and I'll teach you how to play baseball and how to fish. Your mother will no doubt have you running around in dresses and ribbons, but I'll make sure you know how to throw a punch and kick any boy's ass."

Bella wriggled in his arms before sighing and settling down where she was sprawled against him. His finger was still in her mouth, but she was happy that he wouldn't move it for anything. As he watched, her eyelids began to droop.

"I love you so much baby girl, and I love your mother too. I guess I'm just going to have to tell her that more often in the future so she doesn't get overwhelmed. Because, you know, you're tiny, but you're a big responsibility, and we have to make sure we look after you right."

Bella yawned and snuffled as her eyes finally shut, and Charlie shook his head at himself.

What was he doing pouring out his worries to his four-month old daughter? It wasn't like she could understand him, but perhaps that was the point. He needed a non-judgemental ear for all his concerns, unlike Billy, who had told him that he needed to rein Renee in before she did something stupid that would embarrass him in front of the town, or even Renee, who took any kind of comment as a criticism of her life, her principles and her methods of bringing up Bella.

That mostly ended up in arguments, where she screamed at him before bursting into tears, and he was left holding her while she wept, wondering what he was going to do if they couldn't even talk to each other anymore.

Sighing heavily, he rose carefully to his feet, trying to keep Bella from waking up again, and took her to her nursery. She squirmed a little as he placed her in her cot, but quickly settled down, the hand that had held onto his finger so tightly now grasped a wolf stuffed toy that Sarah black had given her when she was born.

Renee hated it. Bella screamed if she had to sleep without it.

Just as Charlie was finishing tucking his daughter in, he heard the squeal of familiar tires racing down the road towards the house. He rubbed his hand across his face as she prepared to go downstairs and face his absent wife.

She burst through the door in a whirlwind, shoving past him and running upstairs. At first Charlie thought that she was worried about Bella, but when she turned into their bedroom instead and grabbed a suitcase, then he knew that something was seriously wrong.

"Renee? What's going on? What are you doing?"

And it all came out.

She hated living here, it was wet and miserable all the time and it made her unhappy; she wanted more out of life, wanted to travel the world and make more of herself. She wanted more than the life of the wife of a provincial policeman, and Stuart was going to give it to her.

That was the real kicker.

She hadn't returned home alone. Her lover, a blond man with a guilty frown on his face, was sat behind the wheel of the car he had bought her to get around in, waiting to drive her away.

Nausea welled up in Charlie's stomach and he fought the urge to vomit as she extolled his virtues, throwing in his face everything that he had done wrong in her eyes. He tried to protest, tried to tell her that he would get an early transfer to somewhere else in the country, that they could all get away as a family, that they could start again somewhere else...

It all fell on deaf ears. She wasn't going to change her mind, no matter what he said or what promises he made her. Finally, she turned upon him with a resigned glare.

"Just let it go, Charlie. I'm not staying; I never wanted to stay. And if I don't get out now then I'm just going to be stuck here in this God-forsaken town like you!"

Charlie flinched, every word hitting him like a bullet. Shock and disbelief were taking over his body and Renee took advantage of his surprise to push past his body and take her suitcase down to the car. He remained like that even when she came back upstairs and it was only when he heard Bella screech that he blinked and shook off the alarm that had pinned him to the ground.

He ran to the nursery where Bella was screaming, louder than he had ever heard her cry before, and Renee was frantically trying to calm their upset daughter and gather up her belongings at the same time.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" He had never been so furious in his life and from the astonishment on Renee's face, she hadn't been expecting that kind of reaction from him.

"I'm...I'm getting Bella's things," she stuttered. "I won't take everything, but once I'm settled I'd appreciate it if you forwarded the rest on."

Charlie stormed forward, snatching his daughter out of this..._woman's_ arms.

"No!" he fumed.

"No?" Renee dropped the supplies she was holding and beckoned for him to pass Bella back over. "What do you mean 'no'? Charlie, I'm her mother, she needs me. I'm not going to leave her behind."

"Well, I'm not going to let you take her."

"You can't do that," she protested.

He took a step back, shifting Bella away from her clawing hands. "I can and I will."

Renee's arms fell to her sides and she shook her head at him. "Be reasonable, Charlie. I know you're upset..."

"Of course I'm upset," he roared, and this time it was her turn to flinch back. "You come home late after disappearing all day, just to tell me that you've been screwing around behind my back and now you're leaving me. As if that wasn't _upsetting_ enough, you then try to take my daughter with you, without any warning, or telling me where you're going to be, or where you're going to live, or when I'll see her again!"

He tried to control his rage for Bella's sake, but his voice was only slightly lower the next time he spoke. "It would take a colder man than me, Renee, to not be upset."

"Charlie," she pleaded once last time, "she's my daughter."

He shook his head, his mind already made up. There was no way he was going to let this woman take his daughter away from him to God knows where with some strange man. He didn't even know where this hard, cold creature who stood before him, trying to part him from his child, came from.

Renee hesitated and then came to some kind of decision.

"Fine! Keep her. I wouldn't be able to travel properly if she was with me anyway."

"Jesus, Renee!" Charlie was horrified. "Do you have no heart? That's your daughter you're talking about."

She shrugged and walked past him, thudding down the stairs.

Charlie followed her numbly, unable to comprehend what had just happened and how everything had gone so wrong so quickly.

"Renee, please." He tried begging her, one last time, only for her to grab her handbag up off the floor and turn to glare at him, chin tilted up in defiance.

"My lawyers will be in touch. Goodbye, Charlie."

She left the house just as quickly as she had entered it, slamming the door behind her. Charlie dashed to window and watched as her car pulled out of the driveway before squealing as her driver hit the accelerator.

She didn't look back.

Bella whimpered unhappily and Charlie unconsciously began to rock her again, crooning to her softly as the world he had built began to crumble around him.

"We'll be alright, baby girl. It's you and me now. We'll be alright."


End file.
